


The Wedding

by CourageousJS



Series: Mirrorball [3]
Category: Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: F/M, Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28657461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourageousJS/pseuds/CourageousJS
Summary: Jamie and Claire's pandemic wedding :)
Relationships: Claire Beauchamp/Fergus Fraser, Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser, Fergus Fraser/Jamie Fraser
Series: Mirrorball [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2063250
Comments: 21
Kudos: 80





	The Wedding

**Author's Note:**

> One shot fluff from Mirrorball. 
> 
> Intended to go to this song that I actually walked down the 'aisle' to in my own elopement. 
> 
> https://youtu.be/efjN02fOflE
> 
> Enjoy this fluff!

[listen to the accompanying song here ](https://youtu.be/efjN02fOflE)

I awoke early with a sense of great peace enveloping me like the soft cream duvet around my body. My hand grazed the top of the covers looking for the warm form that was usually on my right side. I sat up suddenly when my hand felt only the soft mattress underneath it. 

We had fallen asleep ridiculously fast the night before after traveling on the road a few hours and finding our cabin in the nationally designated wilderness was indeed a four-wheel-drive requirement to find. At the top of a 60 degree incline, our little cabin looked out on the winding path at the bottom of the ravine below us and across a wide valley to the ridge of pines on the opposite wall of the gorge. 

I set my bare feet down on the hardwood floor and wrapped my plush robe around myself before tiptoeing into the hall so as not to wake Fergus, my ball of energy of a seven-year-old next door. I didn’t want to hear his chirpy voice peeling out at a decibel that was ungodly for how early it was. Besides, I wanted time with my groom. 

I smiled softly to myself as I saw the piping hot coffee sitting there on the Keurig ready for me to grab and take outside on the wraparound pine porch of the little cabin. I took my first indicative sip to test the heat of the beverage before sighing and cracking open the back door to meander out into the landing. 

_My groom._

_My husband-to-be._

_God, I could call him MY husband today._

James Fraser was sitting on one of the giant rocking chairs on the corner of the porch taking in the view of the chasm beyond. In the seven o’clock light, the fog was still deep and thick as cotton fluff. The occasional pine tree we could make out on the other ridge cut a fleeting phantasm against the cool edge of morning. 

The acid smell of the medium roast coffee in my cup mixed with the smell of damp pine, a brisk cedar scent of the wild that surrounded us. 

“Good morning, my almost-wife.” 

Jamie’s eyes lit up as he saw me, his white tee shirt reflecting off his bright smile and adoring gaze. I briefly thought of the adage that it was bad luck for a bride and groom to see each other before the ceremony, but we had thrown all normalities of a traditional wedding day out of the window in the face of an elopement. 

My heart twinged in pain remembering the dashed plans of our May wedding, COVID had thrown a giant wrench into the carefully laid plans of a small church wedding in the spring. Jamie was adamant on doing it properly, the devout Catholic that he was. Jenny had given him their Nan’s Bible and the old worn book sat on the edge of the small table between us. 

“I miss them.” I said simply, nodding to the Bible. 

“Me, too.”

Jamie caught my reference to the names of his parents in the front cover. To the names of my own parents who would never be in any Bible’s front family tree. The space of the people missing from our special day hung in the air around us and faintly, I hoped the ethereal presence I felt in the quiet was them showing us they were there. Holding the space between earth and heaven, pouring in just a little bit of other-worldliness on our wedding day. 

Maybe the peace I had felt came from not being alone. 

My heart longed for Jenny to be there, for the sister I never had to be the comfort of not having my own mother around to help me get ready. I hastily put those thoughts aside as I knew they were safer away from it all and would celebrate with us after it was safe again. 

I drank in the presence of my love as we watched the sunrise together pierce the fog like a stalwart beacon. Soon, the hills were trilling around us with the sound of bird calls, insects and animals alike coming alive in the song of the morning. 

…………………………………………………………………..

After a long and arduous morning hike with both of us occasionally reaching out to keep Fergus from falling to his death, we came back to our temporary ‘home’ to wash and ready ourselves for the ceremony. 

Jamie carefully laid out his and Fergus’s clothes on the large, rectangular table and I retreated to the bathroom to shower and wrap up in my bright blue satin gown to get ready. As I dried my wet hair, I looked over my shoulder to find Jamie staring at me. His blue eyes glowed with held in tears as he smiled broadly. I smiled back, our joy mingling in the silence between us. A captured moment that no camera could ever contain in a photograph. 

“I’m glad we’re doing it this way instead of waiting,” I said quietly. 

He nodded, “Aye, me too. Claire, I’ve never been so happy.” 

Jamie’s voice trembled at the end of his words and he laughed to himself and shook his head trying to blink back in the happy tears that were formed on his blonde lashes. He was never one to hold in a positive emotion and I loved that about him. 

“Me neither, Jamie.” 

He crossed the space between us and kissed my forehead, the stubble on his chin grazed my neck as he pulled me into his sturdy arms for an embrace. 

It was us. Me and him. Nothing could stop us. 

Unlike my first wedding day, one I had tried not to think of, I couldn’t help but think that today couldn’t have felt more different. From dread to joy, fear to love, anxiety to peace. I was ready to be married to this man, now and forever. 

My brunette curls dried and I smiled broadly at Jamie when he returned again bringing Fergus in tow. Both of them were dressed in light muslin button downs with their sleeves rolled up. Their gray dress slacks pinched neatly by brown suspenders. Fergus had a sprig of baby’s breath and burlap pinned to his suspender and, unlike Jamie, a gold satin bow tie. 

“Oh my darling, you look so handsome!” I hugged the boy close to me, breathing in his dark curls falling carelessly over one eye. How he had grown since Jamie first met him, a wee lad in a tiger hoodie, clinging to his mama’s pant leg. 

“Would you like to help me get ready?” 

“Yes!” Fergus nodded, his big eyes lit up playfully, he scooted Jamie out of the room and slammed the door locking it behind him. “No peeking!” 

Jamie’s laugh echoed in the hall, “Aye, I won’t, son.” 

“Now,” I said, laying out my lipsticks and blush. “What color?” 

………………………………………………………………………………………….

I could scarcely breathe as Jamie and I left the little cabin on the hill. My dress that I had worked so hard on was hidden from sight under my long, blue satin robe.

“Christ, Claire.” Jamie let out a low gasp when I did exit the room to ask if he was ready to go. 

I anticipated my face in a flush of color at him seeing me, but I didn’t plan on the heat to rise so quickly to my cheeks. 

“Do you like it?” I grinned, turning my head so he could see my low curly bun with a side-swept blue cornflower adorned hair comb amid my shiny curls. 

“I….” Jamie stammered. “I love it. You’re absolutely beautiful, Claire.” 

His tone was tender and his square jaw clenched in emotion. 

He helped me in the car and we took off to a spot on my GPS that we had arranged with a local priest who agreed to meet us there to perform the ceremony. Fergus chatted happily in the backseat all the way and Jamie kept his eyes on the road with one hand clutching mine, squeezing occasionally as he smiled all the way. 

I took advantage of the trip to gaze at him, the way his white shirt perfectly complimented his smile took my breath away, I was so distracted by the tiny beauty mark on his collarbone, poking out of the shirt collar. The few strands of auburn chest hair visible made me want to play in it with my fingers. To run my lips on his sharp jawline and whisper in his ear what the image of him dressed up like that was doing to me. I smiled as I thought about the effect this would have on him and the chance that, if it weren’t for Fergus, we might take a detour into the woods and utterly lose ourselves before the ceremony. 

We drove to a specific lookout over the great canyons beyond, the midday sun warming up the valley in the late summer with few clouds hanging around overhead to witness us arriving. My heartbeat raced as Jamie took a turn and went over the hill. The next time I saw him, I would be walking down the aisle. 

With Jamie out of sight I removed my blue robe for the first time and stashed it in the car. The white of my cotton shift glowed brilliantly in the sun. The lace detail of daisy-delicate flowers adorned my fluttering cap sleeves. The bodice of my dress had small white fabric buttons all down the crepe material. My sash, also lace tied tightly into place and streamed in the back and down my tea-length skirt. The peekaboo lace at my hem played with my calf muscles and danced around my t-strap white retro leather shoes that I scoured multiple boutiques for all year. It was no easy task keeping it all secret from Jamie as I worked on my dress most weekends. A simple piece, I had gotten it on sale with little trimmings. It was a special labor of love as I worked into the night, showing only Fergus my finished handiwork. 

“You look just darling, Mama.” He had said. 

I smiled broadly thinking of that moment as I bent near him one last time and fixed his boutonniere of baby’s breath. 

“You ready, Baby?” 

In answer, Fergus stuck out his chest and took the white ring box in hand, holding his arm out at his side for me to hold onto as we made our way towards our future. I took a deep, shaky breath and steadied myself as I knew in just a few more steps, Jamie would see me for the first time. Fergus and I made our way slowly up the hill to where it dipped down to a wood fence surrounded by only pine trees and sand near the edge of a vase expanse behind it. 

We stopped. 

Looking down the hill, I tried not to cry as my little man stood and walked me down so stalwartly. The most important man walking me into a marriage with the love of my life, I couldn’t have imagined anything more meaningful. I choked back my own tears as we saw Jamie for the first time. 

He was looking out at the expanse with the priest, who was dressed simply for the occasion in a white cassock with a high collar. Jamie’s auburn hair blew in the slight breeze lifting off of the canyon as he turned to see us. 

I’ll never forget how he immediately had to cover his face with his hand to wipe away the tears before looking up at Fergus and me coming towards them both slowly. One step, one foot in front of the other. My heart swelled with the magnitude of the moment, sharing the thought with Jamie that in that moment I was incredibly thankful no one we really knew was here. Both of us came apart thoroughly as we came together under the bright azure sky to join our lives. 

I laughed as I tried to hold in my own tears of utter happiness. They spilled down my cheeks and I held onto Fergus’s arm as we ended our short walk in front of Jamie. He took both my hands in his own and brought one of them to his lips in a caress I had grown used to associating with my boyfriend, then fiancé and now-husband. 

I had no idea how I was going to get through the next ten minutes. Even though we had planned a short ceremony, we were both coming undone just at the beginning of it. As the priest spoke, I soaked in the hum of the life around us. The warmth of the sun on the exposed rocks bouncing up happily to lap at our heels. The whisper of the breeze from the canyon beyond the drop-off, whistling up at us slightly, peering down and around bushes and corners to witness our marriage. The birds sang loudly in the distance and a nearby woodpecker harassed a tree somewhere over my left shoulder. 

I was mesmerized by Jamie’s ocean eyes and held his hands fast with the bouquet of white peonies I held in my left hand. I listened to the end of the priest’s comments on marriage. 

“We need a witness to our lives. There’s a billion people on the planet… so what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things… all of it, all of the time, every day. You’re saying, your life will not go unwitnessed because I will be your witness. Claire, I believe you wanted to go first with the vows?” 

I nodded. The priest, a kindly older gentleman, wrapped a thin rope of gold around our hands binding them together in traditional Celtic fashion. Unlike days of old, I was thankful Jamie hadn’t wanted the actual handfasting of cutting each other in the process. His warm hands were grasping my own with the gentle firmness of hope as I looked into his eyes to begin my own vows. 

“Jamie, the past week has brought me so much joy in a way I never thought I’d experience. From the moment I met you, it felt like sunshine. That warmth has never left me as long as I have you by my side. You are the light in all of my days and nights. Only you could love me, so fully-” 

Here my voice broke, I struggled onwards and watched his own face dissolve into a myriad of emotion and tender love. 

“- so fully and perfectly in all of my imperfections. Today, I couldn’t be happier as I give myself to you fully and without hesitation. I want nothing more than to grow old with you. May we discover only deeper love and devotion in our journey together. I, Claire, take you and only you to be my representation of all I hope to be. I take your name as my own to honor the person you are now, as well as the person you will become. I vow to be your home, your lover, your safety as long as we both shall live. You will always have me and all that I am- to love you, and all that you are. You are my beloved.” 

I bit my lip and once again found strength in his kind eyes, glowing at me with pride and joy at my words. He began his vows in a strong, steady voice only wavering slightly at the mention of my name. 

“My dearest Claire, I know you’ve had promises made to you and never kept so I shall not make a promise to you. Instead I _will_ seek each day to show you the depth of my love and commitment for you. You have done so much for me and we still have so much farther to go together as one. I _will_ show you everyday how I love you more and I _will_ show you how much I care for you until the day I die. You _will_ have my heart. Never doubt my love for you. Things will not always go smoothly but our love will never falter. I will do my best to prevent us from stumbling but if you stumble, I will be your strength. I will be your patience if you have none. You are a part of me now and I will always be there with unending love.” 

As we unbound our hands, I held the thin rope as Jamie bent down for the moment our son had been waiting for. Fergus had bounced from one foot to the other during our whole vows and now he had Jamie’s full attention. I stood, hand on my new husband’s shoulder as we both looked down at Fergus with love and affection. 

“Fergus, I am so honored that you will be my son. I love you so much and watching you grow everyday fills me with such joy. Getting to be a part of that in any capacity makes me the happiest man in the world. You are my super ninja best bud and I promise to always love you when you need it. I promise to be nice to you when you need it as well as firm when the time comes. I pledge you my love and my loyalty as your step father to be there for you always.” 

Jamie’s voice caught with thick emotion towards the end and Fergus happily embraced him, my arms went around them both. 

“By the power vested in me from our Holy God, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.” 

Jamie smiled broadly and dipped me backwards, his hand on my jaw and other holding me close on my lower back he pulled me in. Our tears mixed in a happy smudge as the priest congratulated us on our marriage. After he had left us with the signed certificate of marriage we stayed behind in the silence. Fergus ran around the site and drew in the sand with sticks, perfectly content in his little world. Jamie came up behind me and we looked out over the expanse, he wrapped his arms around me and I fell back into his chest comfortably as we held each other. 

“Was it everything you hoped for, Claire?” 

I breathed in his smell amid the pine, leather and soap with a touch of sage. I closed my eyes, the inside of my eyelids red against the ball of fire in the sky climbing up and over high noon. Time ticked on merrily amid the buzz and hum of the life around us and never before had I been more content. It hung over me like golden warmth in the silence of the space. 

“Everything and more, Jamie.” 

He hugged me closer and turned me around to kiss me again, tenderly and softly this time. He curled a small tendril away from my face with his worn finger and smiled. 

“Forever and ever.” 

I hugged him close, my heart on his, repeating his word with my own methodical pulse. Jamie Fraser was mine and I was his and we would stay so until the end of time. We were mated for life, him and I. Nothing could keep us apart. 

I wrapped myself up in my groom’s arms and kissed him once more, the warmth radiating around us in a golden haze. 

It was the dawn of a new age. 


End file.
